As a small business, you can find international talent by widening your search to international channels, making your selection process tight and predictable, and deciding upfront whether you can and want to use the Highly Skilled Migrant route. This way, you expand your candidate pool without needing a large recruitment budget.
This works especially well for scarce profiles, such as technical specialists, where the Dutch market will remain tight in 2026. The biggest gains usually come from focus: a clearly defined target group, a clear job opening, and a realistic plan for immigration and employment.
Below, we answer the key questions you’ll ask yourself when you want to attract and hire Highly Skilled Migrants.
What do we mean by international talent, and when is it relevant for a small business?
International talent means professionals who live outside the Netherlands and whom you recruit for a role in the Netherlands, often including relocation and immigration. For a small business, this is relevant if you can’t find enough suitable candidates locally, if you’re looking for a niche skill, or if you want to scale faster with Highly Skilled Migrants in hard-to-fill roles.
International talent can come from within the EU or from outside the EU. This article focuses on non-EU professionals who come to the Netherlands via the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme, because that involves additional steps. It’s especially relevant when:
- your vacancy has been open longer than usual and applicant quality is lagging
- your team can work in English, or you’re willing to adapt work processes accordingly
- your role and salary level fit within the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme requirements
- you’re willing to invest in onboarding, housing, and a practical landing in the Netherlands
Important nuance: recruiting internationally doesn’t automatically solve a mismatch in role profile or employment conditions. If your role is too broad or your offer isn’t competitive, the funnel will stay thin—even internationally.
Where can you find international talent as a small business without a large recruitment budget?
You can find international talent without a big budget by using existing networks smartly, leveraging free or low-cost channels, and doing targeted sourcing where your audience is already active. For Highly Skilled Migrants, a mix of referrals, LinkedIn outreach, and community channels often works better than expensive job boards.
- Employee referrals: ask your team for introductions within their international network and reward successful referrals
- LinkedIn: search by specific skills, location, and “open to relocate,” and send short, concrete messages with the role, stack, and salary range
- GitHub and portfolio platforms: approach engineers based on real output, not just CV keywords
- International communities: Slack groups, Discord servers, and meetups by tech stack or discipline
- Universities and alumni networks: especially useful for junior to mid-level profiles with growth potential
Make your approach measurable: pick two channels, run them for four weeks, evaluate response and quality, and only then scale up. This prevents you from losing time by being “a little bit visible everywhere.”
How do you make your vacancy and selection process attractive to international candidates?
You make your vacancy and selection process attractive by being максимально clear about the role, salary, relocation support, and the immigration pathway, and by keeping your process short and predictable. International candidates compare countries and employers quickly, so a transparent approach increases your conversion with Highly Skilled Migrants.
Make sure your vacancy includes at least:
- Work location and hybrid policy, including expectations around office presence
- Language: state whether English is sufficient and which documents you accept in which language
- Salary range and whether you’re willing to sponsor via the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme
- Tech stack or core responsibilities with concrete project examples
- Selection steps with timeline, for example two interviews and a practical assignment
Keep the selection process tight:
- 20–30 minute screening call with clear criteria
- Technical or content-focused interview using real cases from your work
- Final conversation about the offer, start date, relocation, and planning
Practical tip: schedule interviews in time slots that work across multiple time zones and provide feedback within 48 hours. Speed matters, because international candidates often run multiple processes at the same time.
What immigration and employment options do you have in the Netherlands for non-EU talent?
For non-EU talent coming to the Netherlands as a Highly Skilled Migrant, as the employer you apply for a residence permit with the IND via the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme. Depending on your setup, you either become a recognized sponsor yourself, or you work with an external recognized sponsor who can take on the employer-of-record role and compliance tasks.
In practice, you usually see these options:
- Become a recognized sponsor yourself: you handle the IND processes and the associated obligations
- Work with a recognized sponsor as a partner: you outsource the immigration and employment part, while you keep day-to-day management on the work floor
Pay attention to the obligations as a recognized sponsor. You not only have a reporting obligation, but also a duty to provide information, duty to keep records, and duty of care. This means, among other things, reporting changes in time, keeping files in order, and handling the employee’s position with due care.
Also important: whether someone can enter the country during the procedure depends on nationality. For non-MVV-required countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, the situation differs from MVV-required nationalities. And after arrival, the employee collects the residence document from the IND, while registration in the BRP should also happen as soon as possible. Which step comes first varies by municipality and situation.
What costs and timelines can you expect when hiring international talent?
The costs and timelines for hiring international talent usually consist of three parts: recruitment time, immigration costs, and relocation and onboarding. For applications via the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme, cases submitted by recognized sponsors are generally processed faster and often completed within a few weeks, but your overall timeline also depends on notice periods, MVV requirements, and housing.
In your planning, account for these blocks:
- Recruitment and selection: often 2 to 6 weeks, depending on scarcity and interview capacity
- IND process: often a few weeks with recognized sponsorship, but allow time for document collection and peak periods
- Relocation: finding housing, arrival planning, and BRP and IND appointments can take additional time
In terms of costs, it’s useful to distinguish between one-off and ongoing costs:
- One-off: IND fees, translations or legalizations if needed, flight, and temporary housing
- Ongoing: salary, any relocation allowance, and internal time for guidance and compliance
Don’t forget the salary criterion. As of 1 January 2026, three separate IND thresholds apply: Highly Skilled Migrant ≥ 30 years: € 5,942, Highly Skilled Migrant < 30 years: € 4,357, orientation year scheme: € 3,122. Which threshold applies depends on the employee’s category, so check this early in your process to avoid disappointment on both sides.
How All About Expats helps you find and hire international talent
We help you hire Highly Skilled Migrants faster and compliantly by combining immigration, employment, and a practical landing in the Netherlands into one approach. This gives you clarity on feasibility, planning, and obligations, while your team can focus on selection and onboarding on the work floor.
- Immigration via the Highly Skilled Migrant route with support on documents, timing, and the IND application as a recognized sponsor
- Employment and payroll so you don’t have to set everything up yourself
- Relocation support around arrival, registration, and practical settlement
If you’d like to discuss your vacancy, salary thresholds, or the fastest route for a specific candidate, get in touch via contact us or view our approach to immigration for employers.
